Orin Growing Up

 Ian and I were chatting last night about the dramatic changes in these dogs as they grow and mature, so here we go, Orin from 8 weeks to 3.5 years old. 

Starting in May 2020 - 2 months, 3 months

4 months, 5 months

6 and 7 months

8 months, then a jump to 11 months

November 2021 - 18 months and March 2022 - 2 years - but out of coat

July 2022 and July 2023

He is a big strong powerful male, not without his faults which as owner and/or breeder we must see, but he sure is a stunning male! 

Did You Know Me Then?

Pepsi, Nikki, Robbie and Blade.

Mum has just given me this. A real blast from the past and a photo I've no memory of seeing before. Must be 94/95 - You can tell that Pepsi is already blind, Nikki is a young adult (Born July 93) and it's got to be before November 95 when Don and I split up, as he took Robbie with him and I never saw him again 🙁. I have so few photos of Robbie that it made me quite emotional. He was Don's work/security dog that came from the pound in Shropshire. Poor Robbie had been abandoned in a getaway car after a robbery, the staff had called him "Robber," Robbie seemed to fit! 

When we got together Don also had Captain a GSD, and Sultan the Rottie. I had Blade and Pepsi, we bought Nikki on "breeding terms,"  then Robbie arrived and Don's parents in their wisdom gave us Pepe the Min Pin. Pepe was the first dog I ever had to rehome, it was either that or wait for Blade or Robbie to kill him. The little shit would wait till they were asleep then jump off the sofa and bite one of them, he'd then jump into my arms for the protection that of course I had to give him!  When we split up, Don took Robbie, Captain was rehomed and I moved Sultan into the house. (Don's choice was for his dogs to live outside) Sultan was a lovely, lovely dog, a perfect gentleman but sadly he only had 15 months of living indoors as he died of lung cancer early in 1997 - just before I met Steve! 

Just weeks before Don and I split up we had mated Nikki to Arko Vom Huhnegrab - by the time the first Blanik litter was due I was very much on my own. 5 dogs and 3 bitches arrived between the 9th and 10th of January 1996 - the rest I'm sure you know! 

Sultan

Captain

Autumn Colours

George Michael - Kissing A Fool

 

Today, we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the song "Kissing A Fool". Written and performed by George and released on November 21, 1988 by Columbia Records. This song was the seventh and final single to be released from the album "Faith". Aside from George Michael's vocals, the song employs piano, guitar, bass, drums and a brass section. The song was written about George Michael's insecurities in a love relationship. George said about this song "It's about a relationship I had with someone who couldn't handle the situation because of who I was"

Day 19 And That Leg

 All is quiet but by no way safe. Orin acknowledged me this morning, the first time in days, but still went straight to look for Siska. Yesterday, he cleared the baby gate from a standstill, but I had her safely hidden! Everyone apart from Siska have eaten this morning, it's normal for her to leave it occasionally. So it's too late to run off and find a stud dog this time. Of course I regret it, but I do try and keep to my word and Beti does deserve the time. I now have over half a year to think, hope and dream of the next Blanik generation. My choice of stud dog keeps changing, and never one to follow suite I'm now thinking of a slightly different plan! Siska amused me yesterday when she found sleeping on top of her crate far more comfortable than in it ... Actually that's one of Luther's favourite beds, he won't be amused if it's taken over by a GSD! 

People are asking me daily about Beti's leg, I don't know what the answer is! Is she obviously lame? No. Do I think she's right? No! There is an intermittent drop on the forehand and an odd action to her left front. We've both bent, twisted and manipulated her legs and joints and there is no reaction, but we have both seen it. 

I talked to Katrina about her and she said due to the fact she's still charging around like an idiot (as opposed to showing serious pain) then the vets would probably only give her anti- inflammatories, and have her in at 6 months for X-rays should I continue to be concerned. With that information in mind, I decided to give her 5 days of metacam, which finished last night. We'll see now if she is worse after finishing it. One thing for sure, her zest for life hasn't been dampened at all by anything that's going on, she really is very very full on. 

After The Rain

 

Beti's Buddies

                         

Well the cat food delivery came last night and Beti was most helpful with the recycling again! This morning I decided to throw a lot (not all!) of Beti's buddies into the washing machine. Some of this stuff is so old, but still surviving! 

Three generations - An afternoon run between the showers! It has been a pretty miserable day really, but I can cope with most things except the infamous Fron wind!

The only thing wrong with these phones is the lack of zoom, in situations like this, I miss my camera!

Damp and Drizzly

Zeus

Sammi and Orin

Kaiah and Ross

Beti, Sammi and Loki

Hereditary Clear

In recent years we have been testing our dogs for an increasing amount of conditions.  Scoring hips has been going on since I've been involved with the breed, and doing elbows cropped in somewhere along the line too. There are never any guarantees, but Malcolm Willis who was one of the founders of the scoring scheme informed us that 40 - 50% of dysplasia was genetic, the rest was down to other factors, e.g correct exercise, correct nutrition and weight and of course the general makeup of a particular dog. No matter how hard we try, bad hips/elbows can crop up anywhere, but when one animal produces numerous serious cases to different partners, they should be removed from future breeding programs. 

Tests for DM (Degenerative myelopathy) and PD (Pituitary Dwarfism) are now also becoming standard practices in breeding GSD's as well as Haemophilia A in males. The test for DM is considered less reliable as it only isolates one of the genes responsible for the condition, but in my opinion if we can stop at least one of our puppies being affected by this condition, then it's worth it. I started testing with Kaiah, I also tested Ross, and Orin and Siska are tested, all have tested clear. I do not insist that people who bring bitches to Orin have them tested, but I do suggest it should be done. Orin is clear so he can not produce any affected progeny, but as you can see above mated to an affected or carrier bitch he can produce carriers. When mating my bitches I have not been swayed if the males are not tested, Kaiah and Siska are clear so that gives me an advantage. Beti will not need to be tested as Orin and Zoe are both clear, therefore Beti can only be hereditary clear, so providing she has no joint abnormalities we could continue the Blanik line through her. Of course I do have doubts there but without X-ray vision, well we'll have to wait and see! 

Anyway I posted this as I think this chart is extremely useful to check up on any conditions that need genes from each parent. Let's hope I can find it should I need it again! 

Dry Again, Thankfully

You may notice I didn't put the last photo on Facebook. Maybe I'm being childish, well the dogs don't give a flying feck, but I do. If I had 7 children people wouldn't just comment on the same one and ignore the others, would they? So for a while now, there will be no photos of the Facebook favourite going on the site, but of course I will put them on here!